Ririka Kato
Ririka Kato is the mother of Marika Kato and the former lover of Gonzaemon Kato. She's a former pirate who was known as "Blaster Ririka". She now works as an Air Traffic Controller. Appearance Light Novel Anime Ririka has blue eyes and long purple hair (slightly parted at the front-left) that extends down just past her shoulders. During her pirating days, she wore an outfit similar to the one her daughter now wears, with a black coat with gold highlights (open at the lower front) and red frills at the ends of the sleeves. Under her coat, she wore a slightly longer brown/blue waistcoat with red lining lower down. Below, she wore black leggings and brown boots with gold lining. A black cape with a maroon inside was attached to the back of the coat via shoulder guards. Her sword was attached to her coat at waist level on the left. She wore a bicorne-like hat with the same colour scheme as the coat, the secondary Bentenmaru emblem on the front-left and a white tuft in the middle section on the right. At her job as an air traffic controller, she wears a grey suit and trousers with a white shirt and red tie. Outside of work, when going out, she usually wears a loose, pale green, buttoned up shirt, a small white belt, black or dark grey trousers, black shoes and an open orange-red fleece. At home, she often wears a pale yellow shirt, black trousers, salmon coloured slippers and when cooking, a blue apron with yellow lining and a blue teddy bear face on the front. While aiding Ironbeard during the Pirate Hunter arc, she wore a red catsuit. Personality & Character Ririka is strong-willed, supportive and fairly optimistic. She drinks wine and sake with beer glasses. Background Ririka was born in space and served as a pirate aboard the Bentenmaru, earning the epithet "Blaster Ririka". At some point, she married Gonzaemon and some time later, left him and the Bentenmaru to raise their daughter Marika. She became an Air Traffic Controller on the Sea of the Morning Star at New Okuhama Airport. She didn't tell Marika about her father or her inheritance, planning to wait until she had graduated Sailing 02. Plot Recruitment Arc Ririka was cooking pot-au-feu when Marika came back from her part-time job at Lamp House, having met Kane and Misa. Marika told her that she had met someone who knew her and that they had asked whether she wished to see the planet from outer space, causing Ririka to drop a plate in surprise. After she swept it up, she said that they had arrived sooner than she had expected but it would be OK. At that moment, Kane and Misa arrived at the door in black mourning attire. After a password exchange and greeting each other, Misa informed Ririka that Captain Gonzaemon had passed away. Later, with the four assembled at the dinner table, Ririka and Misa raised their glasses of wine to their deceased captain, quickly finishing them and laughing before switching to larger glasses. Ririka asked Misa what finally did Gonzaemon in, as she hadn't heard of any battles important enough to make the news. She was surprised to find out that it was food poisoning, remarking that she told him to stop eating stuff he picked up off the ground. She also expressed mild surprise that they were able to find her house, to which Misa remarked that her optimism hadn't changed. When Marika asked who the Gonzaemon they were talking about was, Misa asked Ririka in surprise whether she hadn't told her, to which Ririka replied that she had forgotten it until now. She then told Marika that Gonzaemon was her husband and Marika's father. After Misa and Kane had left and Marika was in bed thinking about what she had been told, Ririka, downstairs washing up, said she should take her time and think it over Sailing 01. Golden Ghost Ship Arc Hakuoh Pirates Arc Nebula Cup Arc (Anime Only) Pirate Hunter Arc (Anime Only) Three Ships Arc Skills & Abilities Ririka is very skilled at handling guns, which gave rise to her epithet "Blaster Ririka" Sailing 07. When she first came aboard the Bentenmaru, she nearly killed the previous crew several times with her cooking Sailing 13, however she has improved considerably since then. Nowadays her cooking is delicious. Shortly after Marika's search for the Golden Ghost Ship, Ririka applies for Sailing 13 and later earns a Class-II Large Interstellar Ship License. Relationships Gallery Trivia References Category:Characters Category:Female Category:Pirates Category:Articles requiring plot summaries Category:Work in progress